Story by Chris Graham
The announcement from the Obama administration today that it plans to bring 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Muhammad and four other terrorists to trial in civilian court in New York drew criticism from Democratic Sen. Jim Webb and 10th District Republican Congressman Frank Wolf.
“I have never disputed the constitutional authority of the president to convene Article III courts in cases of international terrorism. However, I remain very concerned about the wisdom of doing so,” Webb said in a statement.
“Those who have committed acts of international terrorism are enemy combatants, just as certainly as the Japanese pilots who killed thousands of Americans at Pearl Harbor. It will be disruptive, costly, and potentially counterproductive to try them as criminals in our civilian courts,” Webb said.
“The precedent set by this decision deserves careful scrutiny as we consider proper venues for trying those now held at Guantanamo who were apprehended outside of this country for acts that occurred outside of the country. And we must be especially careful with any decisions to bring onto American soil any of those prisoners who remain a threat to our country but whose cases have been adjudged as inappropriate for trial at all. They do not belong in our country, they do not belong in our courts, and they do not belong in our prisons,” Webb said.
“I have consistently argued that military commissions, with the additional procedural rules added by Congress and enacted by President Obama, are the most appropriate venue for trying individuals adjudged to be enemy combatants,” Webb said.
The statement from Wolf:
“It is a mistake to bring such dangerous people to the United States for trial. Khalid Sheik Mohammed is the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people, 30 of whom were from my congressional district. He also is the person who took pleasure in beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
“What signal are we sending when we say our military courts of justice are adequate for our men and women in uniform, but not good enough for terrorists like Khalid Sheik Mohammed?
“Because these terrorists have no defense for their unconscionable role in 9/11, they will use this civilian trial as an opportunity to put the United States on trial.
“I am deeply concerned that Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the four other terrorists will push for the release of sensitive intelligence and defense information in an effort to disclose U.S. anti-terrorism tactics to their terrorist brethren abroad.
“There also has been the incorrect assumption that they will be going to a Supermax prison. They won’t be. They are going to be held in a local jail near the courthouse and could be there for years. Doesn’t anyone remember the length of Zacharias Moussaousi’s trial? It lasted more than four years.
“These terrorists should have been tried by a military court and if convicted, be sent to the appropriate prison. This is just a bad decision.”
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